Increased production capacity

We were the first to invest in Colorado in Poland. The decision was dictated by the fact that this device allows us to eliminate all the disadvantages of the existing latex technology.

Bartosz Swiderski, Owner, Studio Bell

Beginnings and challenges

Studio Bell was established as a graphic studio in Warsaw in 1998. Founded by Bartosz Świderski, the studio initially dealt with printing small and medium-format materials. After just twelve months or so, in 1999, Studio Bell invested in new machines for producing large-format graphic materials, which enabled the realization of large-format orders for individuals and business customers.

The key products offered by Studio Bell were advertising materials, decorative elements for offices and trade fair signs.
The dominant printing technology was solvent, which showed significant production limitations over the years. At the same time, Studio Bell was winning more and more orders for photographic wallpaper printing, which eventually dominated the company's services. In the face of the technological limitations of latex and customers' increasing ecological awareness, Świderski started looking for a new technology for producing professional photographic wallpapers.

"We had problems with the coloring and smudging of the gores, and when it came to the geometry of the printouts as well. In practice, there were more and more unknowns that could surprise us when installing the photographic wallpaper and cause us to have to repeat the work." In May 2017, Studio Bell decided to invest in the latest Colorado 1640 plotter with innovative UVgel technology. Expectations were clear: increased print speed, better color repeatability and environmental friendliness.

A new chapter

"We were the first to invest in Colorado in Poland. The decision was dictated by the fact that this device allows us to eliminate all the disadvantages of the existing latex technology," admits Bartosz Świderski.

Colorado 1640 is innovative in the way that the ink, which is in gel form, is applied, so it is not a liquid substance. It is liquefied only in the head for the time of droplet formation, so that it can be cured on the medium. Curing is carried out by using a UV LED lamp at a low temperature, so that the temperature of the medium does not exceed 30 degrees, which is a big issue with latex, where temperatures exceed 80 degrees.

"Because it is a piezoelectric technology, the Colorado head is characterized by high repeatability of droplet formation and accuracy of droplet placement. What's more, placement is so accurate that droplet diameter is given to a hundredth of a millimeter — and this machine, at a high print speed, achieves such precision" he concludes. Świderski

The owner of Studio Bell also appreciates the innovative ink feeding system. "The whole cartridge is applied once — there are no used ink residues, which is a big problem in latex machines, where there isn't a lot of ink and printing several dozen square meters in a single run meant that cartridges need to be removed with leftover ink still inside. What's more, ink running out during printing was very visible on the printout," recalls Świderski.

Revolutionary performance

"Colorado 1640 is a very efficient machine — the approximate speed of 40 m2/hour is more than 4 times higher the throughput we have been able to offer our customers so far. This means that instead of printing for half an hour, you can print in a few minutes," admits Świderski, who also stresses the environmental friendliness of UVgel technology.
"Previous photographic wallpapers were printed with environmentally unfriendly solvent technology, which contains harmful compounds. Canon has eliminated these compounds from both the material and ink."

When asked about the three most important business benefits of investing in Colorado 1640, Świderski does not hesitate to highlight the repeatability, print quality and speed of the device. "Thanks to them, we are able to offer our customers a product that we know will meet their expectations. This is very important to us — we want to be 100% confident in the quality of the products we offer," concludes Świderski.

Colorado 1640 is a very efficient machine — the approximate speed of 40 m2/hour is more than 4 times higher the throughput we have been able to offer our customers so far. This means that instead of printing for half an hour, you can print in a few minutes.